Alabama lawmakers meet for the first time since being elected in November with an organizational session starting Tuesday.
They will elect new leaders, appoint committees, and approve rules for the next four years. It will be a learning experience for 31 new members in the 105-seat House of Representatives and six new members in the 35-seat Senate.
There are changes at the top in the House. Mac McCutcheon, a Huntsville-area Republican who has been House speaker since 2016, did not run for reelection. Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, is expected to replace McCutcheon. The House Republican caucus, which holds 77 seats, nominated Ledbetter for speaker a few days after the election. All the representatives, including the 28 Democrats, will officially elect the new speaker Tuesday.
The Senate will also elect its leaders and appoint committee chairs and committee members. Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, was the top ranking member, or president pro tem during the last term. Reed is returning to the Senate as part of the Republican majority, which holds 27 of the 35 seats, same as the last term.
Legislators won’t pass any bills during the organizational session. That will have to wait until the regular session begins in March. There is talk about a possible special session to allow lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey to make decisions about how to spend the remaining $1 billion of the state’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funds, a pandemic relief plan passed by Congress in 2021.
AL.com spoke with six of the new members in the House about their expectations and priorities heading into this week’s meetings.
Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport
Bolton is retired from the Northport Police Department and arrives at the State House with specific ideas about needs for his district, which includes parts of Tuscaloosa and Pickens counties. Healthcare is at the top of the list. The only hospital in Pickens County closed in 2020, and Bolton said he will work to obtain funding and an operational plan to reopen the emergency room of that hospital, which is in Carrollton, the county seat. Bolton said the nearest hospitals are about 32 miles away in Columbus, Miss., and about 38 miles away in Tuscaloosa.
“We’ve got a relatively new emergency room that we built there in 2007,” Bolton said. “Right now it’s just sitting there vacant and we’re having to keep it up. I know that the rural model for hospitals is not working today the way that it has in the past and we need to refocus the efforts that we’re making on really critical access and making sure that we’ve got the ER available for stabilization. People that have to be transported to outside areas can then be transported but the availability of emergency care is the big thing right now.”
The delivery of high-speed internet to parts of Pickens County is another priority, Bolton said. The Legislature has created a grant program and allocated money from the American Rescue Plan Act to help bring broadband to places that lack access.
“Rural broadband is really a big deal out in my district where my students that couldn’t go to school during the pandemic didn’t have access to high speed internet,” Bolton said. “That money is out there. I’m currently working with various providers.”
Rep. Brock Colvin, R-Albertville
Colvin, 27, is the youngest member of the Legislature and replaces longtime representative Kerry Rich, who did not seek another term in the northeast Alabama district.
“It’s an honor to not only represent my district, District 26, but just to represent my generation as a whole,” Colvin said. “A lot of people my age feel like they’ve never had a voice in government. So it was exciting for me to see so many young people, young conservatives, involved in my campaign and ultimately for us to win and have a voice in government.”
Colvin earned a degree in economics and finance from the University of Alabama and works in the financial field. He said he is hoping for committee assignments that fit his expertise.
“I’m a financial adviser by trade and that’s what I do day-in and day-out,” Colvin said. “That’s my strong point. So any of the committees surrounding the budgets, economic and workforce development. Broadband is a big issue. Poultry is a massive industry in my district.”
Colvin said a seat on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee would be important.
“I just want to make sure that I put myself in the best position to serve my constituents well. And I want to represent and be on committees that I think will have an impact on my district,” Colvin said.
State budget revenues are at record levels thanks to billions in federal dollars for pandemic relief, low unemployment, and inflation. The unusually large amount of money available for state government has led to speculation about returning some of the money to taxpayers through tax cuts or one-time rebates. Colvin said he favors tax cuts but will wait to see what possibilities are the most realistic.
“We’ve got to kind of walk a fine line there,” Colvin said. “As a fiscal conservative, I’m always for the option of tax cuts, permanent tax cuts, to bring relief to our citizens. And that will be the first option I look at.
“I’m not the biggest advocate of just the one-time tax rebates. And my reasoning there is it’s not that I don’t want to give people their money back. I watch the economy every day with my job. And if we know a recession is coming and we know that’s more than likely going to put constraints on our budgets, you hate to give away your cushion and then not have any wiggle room and possibly have to make budget cuts in the near future if the recession comes.
“But I’m definitely more a fan of just kind of permanent tax cuts. I don’t know which taxes would be cut right now. That’s a conversation we’re going to have to have with the leadership and the budget chairmen.“
Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover
DuBose is a former loan officer and business development officer for Compass Bank and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of South Alabama and an MBA from Springhill College. She said she believes she would be a good choice for the Financial Services Committee but mainly wants to get to work however the committee assignments fall.
“For me, it’s a learning opportunity,” DuBose said of the organizational session. “It’s a time for us to get the ball rolling on initiatives for our state. I did submit my input. But I will be happy with whatever the speaker decides to put us. You can still submit bills whether you are on a particular committee or not. You still have the opportunity to draft bills and submit them and work with leadership and other members.”
DuBose said healthcare and education reform are important issues to her.
DuBose met other first-time lawmakers during orientation meetings in December. She said they received in-depth information about how the state budget process works. She came away impressed with the other new lawmakers.
“We’ve got a great class of freshmen coming in,” DuBose said. “We’ve had the opportunity to get to know all of them, both Republicans and Democrats. And I’m excited to work with everybody.
“All of us worked very hard to get elected. And when you work hard for something, it makes you want to put your heart and soul into giving back to the people. And that’s where I am on this. I’m honored and humbled to represent my district. I want to work as hard as I can for District 45 and the whole state. We are all in this together.”
Rep. Chad Robertson, R-Heflin
Robertson is a small business owner who campaigned on ending the state sales tax on groceries. Alabama is one of a few states that collects a full tax on groceries.
“I would like to see that eliminated,” Robertson said. “I don’t think there’s a need for it. And it would put a big relief on working families at the grocery store, and I think that would be something they could see immediately.”
Robertson said he believes some of the dollars people would save through elimination of the tax on groceries would return to state budgets because those consumers would spend the money for other purposes.
Robertson said expanding access to broadband internet is important.
“I want to see that definitely take place, not only for normal citizens but for education,” Robertson said. “I think that will help education a lot in our area. There’s parts of Calhoun County and Cleburne County that don’t have broadband access. That kind of puts those students at a disadvantage.”
Robertson said he would support legislation to increase the penalty for fleeing police officers in a vehicle. He said fleeing suspects cross Cleburne County at high speeds on their way to Georgia on Interstate 20.
“Once they’re caught over there, it’s hard to get them back,” Robertson said. “And it’s just dangerous with a car chase, period. I would like to see eluding a police officer bumped up to a felony. Right now it’s just a misdemeanor. I-20 travels through all my district. And I think that would ease some of the problems that our law enforcement have in our area.”
Robertson is a U.S. Navy veteran who owns a fitness center in Heflin and a convenience store. He’s also a musician who sings and plays the guitar and harmonica, performing classic rock, 90s rock, and country, sometimes solo, sometimes with a band.
“A little bit of everything,” Robertson said. “Whatever they’ll tip me for.”
Robertson said he likes the group of new lawmakers.
“I think we’ve got a good working class coming in for this quadrennium. I’m eager to get with them and get some good things done for Alabama,” Robertson said.
Rep. Mark Shirey, R-Mobile
Shirey is an optometrist who has operated his own practice in west Mobile, Southern Vision Care, for about 20 years. He has spent his career in the field of health and science and believes he could be an effective member of the House Health Committee.
“My background is all healthcare,” Shirey said. “I’ve been in a hospital setting for most of my life. I was a medical microbiologist for 10 years before I decided to go back to optometry school. So, I have a lot of experience with health care.”
Shirey said he would also be interested in serving on a new committee created by the incoming speaker of the House, Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter, the ports and waterways committee.
“Anything the leadership wants to put me in I’ll give my best efforts to,” Shirey said.
Shirey said he expects proposals for tax relief.
“What that’s going to entail, I do not know,” Shirey said. “Whether it’s a one-time rebate or whether it’s an income tax or grocery tax. I think we’ll have all those proposals. Being a new legislator just getting involved in the situation, I don’t know which one of those has a chance.”
Shirey said he became involved in politics about 20 years ago when he helped a friend who was running for the county commission. Shirey lost a race for the state Senate four years ago.
“I did OK for a first run. I had a great time running and enjoyed meeting people,” Shirey said.
Shirey said he decided to run for the House after Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, decided not to seek another term after serving 40 years in the House. Even though Gaston has retired, Shirey said he warned Gaston to expect some phone calls from his successor.
“I told him he thought he was out but I had his cell phone number,” Shirey said. “I’ll absolutely call him and talk to him.”
Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer
Tillman said he’s looking forward to the organizational session as a chance to begin learning how to best represent District 56, which covers part southwestern Jefferson County and includes Bessemer, where he was born and raised.
“We have a lot of needs in District 56 as well as throughout the state of Alabama,” Tillman said. “My first priority personally is to learn the process. To listen, to learn, to see how everything works. Because my goal is to be an effective legislator. My goal is to really serve and work for the people that sent me to Montgomery in District 56. Overall community development is key, with affordable housing. Not just affordable housing but adequate housing.”
(AL.COM)